Page 48 of An Unexpected Ascension (A War Between Worlds #1)

The Angel

“Ican’t wait another day!”

“Briar! You’re not ready! I’m not ready!”

Lucifer paces before his throne.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stand my ground.

“Every day we sit here and feast, every day we sit here and play with swords, every day we sit here and fuck,”

I growl the last word, Ada’s face heating. The Devil knows I’m not getting any.

“Lynx is enduring a torment we will never know.”

He sighs, raking a hand through his dark hair. Finally, halting his incessant pacing, he stands to look at me. His brows knitted in fear and worry.

“Lynx was my key to everything. You know I cannot leave, or we risk?—”

“We risk Greygore, but what if we took him with us?”

Lucifer scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“Naivety doesn’t look good on you, Briar.”

I stalk toward him where he cements himself like stone in front of his wife, as if I’m the enemy he’s protecting her from.

Another day longer and I may become just that.

“It’s the last thing they’d expect, and it leaves Hell safe for Ada.”

I nod towards her as she squares her shoulders.

“I can handle myself, thank you. I don’t need either of you to look after me like some child.”

She scowls.

Lucifer turns to her with softness, brushing an errant strand of fiery hair from her face and eases her into his throne. She drops down into it with a heavy thud.

“No, not a child, my love. We are at war, there are real dangers here. I won’t risk losing you again. Can you accept that?”

Her scowl falters, molding into a frown. Slowly, she nods.

Lucifer kisses her swiftly before turning his attention back to me.

“Briar, have you ever been around the beast? Felt its presence? Its hunger to steal every last bit of innocence your soul clings to?”

“I—”

“No! You haven’t! You haven’t been nearly severed in half trying to wrangle the beast into submission! Now, can you just accept that we need more time?”

A red-hot rage ignites deep my chest, engulfing my useless heart in a bout of flames.

“Dammit, just listen to me for a second!”

He snaps his mouth shut, pinching his lips together.

“Well?” he urges.

“When I found the Mortifier, Lynx and I were approached by a pack of Hell Hounds. They seemed to fear the weapon, retreated the second I waved it around.”

I can practically see the gears turning inside the Devil’s head.

“It could work the same for Greygore. We could use it to keep him in check and at our mercy.”

Lucifer snaps, the deathly object forming in his raised hand. The very instant it appears, the air in the room grows cold, too cold for the likes of Hell. The thing calls to me in an enchanting whisper, purring sweet nothings in my ear, urging me to wrap my fingers around it’s hilt and wield it until all my desires are granted.

And every cell in my body responds to its calling, drawn to it like a magnet.

“Only one way to find out.”

He groans as he disappears from our sight.